The Queen of Avaria
by Sister of Avalon
Summary: Elysia was looking forward to visiting Camelot. That is, until Uther proposes a hell of a plan: to disguise herself as Arthur's maidservant for six months. Having no choice, Elysia has to help Arthur fight in a huge battle, at the same time prevent her powers from being found out. And what's with Arthur constantly staring at her? ArthurXOC. Rated T just in case.
1. Explanations

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction, hope you guys like it! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters.**

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"Merlin, I need you to polish my armour, clean my tunic, wash my boots, dust my chambers...understand?" Arthur instructed as the duo walked down a corridor in the castle one afternoon. "Yes sire," Merlin replied, groaning inwardly at the long list of chores the prince had listed. They turned down the corridor into the one which Merlin recognised as the one leading to the throne room.

"Uther wants to see you?" asked Merlin curiously. "Well yes, that's because he plans to tell me of the date of the visit from Queen Elysia of Avaria, who is due to arrive soon, I think." Arthur blushed at the thought of her. They were childhood friends - and as much as he would like to admit it, he had a crush on her.

Merlin frowned. "But I thought Avaria was part of Camelot." Arthur sighed heavily and said, "Avaria was not part of Camelot in the past. It was ruled by King Darius and Queen Evanda, two of the most loyal allies of Camelot. A few years after Elysia was born, they received a prophecy foretelling their deaths. Thus, they decreed that if anything should happen to them, Avaria would belong to Camelot. However, Elysia would still be allowed to rule the country freely. A few years later, the prophecy came true and the pair died in battle, leaving Elysia on her own. Sometimes, I wonder if my father forgot about what they did for Camelot to go around slaughtering dragonlords, or for that matter, people with magic like that."

"Why? What did they do?"

"Evanda was a high priestess of the old religion, Merlin. Darius was a dragonlord. But father trusted them. Elysia is my childhood friend. She has magic too, and is a high priestess like her mother. However, my father and I trust her because she is kind and not some evil, old hag plotting to take over the throne like Morgana."

"Wait... do you mean Elysia has magic but is still a trusted ally of Camelot?" Merlin asked excitedly, hoping that he would be able to reveal his secret to Arthur without having his head chopped off.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? You are _such_ an idiot, Merlin," Arthur said irritably and pushed open the doors to the throne room.

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**So how was it? This is my first fanfiction and so it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review to tell me what you think! (This chapter is quite short though. But I promise to write longer chapters next time!)**

**Constructive criticism is very much welcome. Flames are... accepted too.**

**P.S. Although Elysia's father is a dragonlord, she is not one. She does know alot about dragons, though, due to her heritage.**

**~ Sister of Avalon(::)(::)**


	2. Uther's plan

**Hey people! I'm back for another chapter! ^_^ This is the one where Elysia is introduced(sort of) Hope y'all will like this one!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.(Or else Arthur would have lived. Ha.)**

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While Arthur was explaining things to his confused manservant in the corridors, Uther was lounging on his throne, enjoying one of his rare moments of silence(the throne room was always crowded with people complaining this, complaining that, blahblahblah. It was downright annoying.)

Suddenly, a - unnaturally - huge gust of wind swept through the room and a woman, about two years younger than Arthur appeared in front of Uther. She wore an elegant purple dress and had a horse pendant - the animal that appears on the crest of Avaria - hung around her neck.

It was obviously magic, but instead of calling for the guards, Uther smiled warmly at the woman and gestured for her to come forward. "Welcome, Queen Elysia. It's been so long since Camelot has had a visit from you."

Elysia returned the smile. "Yes, indeed. I really miss this place. But... where are the others? And Arthur?"

"I thought you might ask that," Uther chuckled. "They have not arrived yet, though Arthur may be here earlier. He was practically jumping for joy when I told him that you may be coming for one of those rare visits of yours. But that is not the point. I wanted you to arrive earlier so that you could regain your energy," he said, pointing at the exhausted woman.

"Also, I wanted to talk to you about a certain... plan that I have."

"What is it, exactly?"

"Well, all I want for you is to..."

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Elysia's POV (first person)

_Uther has GOT to be kidding me_, I thought, horrified once he had finished explaining his so-called "plan". I, a HIGH PRIESTESS, forced to disguise myself, and not to mention change my name, _and _pose as Arthur's MAIDSERVANT for SIX months? No way in Hades.

Although I was used to somewhat of a non-pampered life - I did everything on my own, save maybe cleaning my room - I did not like the idea of pampering my childhood friend. Who happened to be just about the world's biggest prat, (I've known that all along)and a royal one at that too.

I growled, feeling the air, the magic in it answer to me.

I closed my eyes, envisioning Uther knocked unconscious in his throne, and the winds carrying me away, out of Camelot, both gently and quickly.

Wait... No. Fighting back magically was not an option. I could not- no, _would not _risk the relationship, the peace between the two countries. I knew that Uther knew that and was using it to his advantage. Forcing myself to regain my composure, I managed to choke out, "Why?"

Uther sighed. "Things are hard these days. I need someone to watch Arthur's back and help him out in the battle against Morgana. It has not started yet, but I fear that it is inevitable. Arthur's manservant, Merlin, has had been alot of help. But I think it is not enough. Also, there is no one else I trust who has enough power or is strong enough other than you, Elysia."

My ears pricked up at the word 'Merlin'. Could it be...? The Merlin? As in Emrys? Before I could dwell on that thought, Uther added, "Oh, and just to let you know, you can use magic as long as you are not found out. Because if you are, I will have not choice but to..." I cringed at the thought of the sharp blade of the axe cutting through my throat.

"Well then," Uther demanded, " Are you in or not?"

I hesitated before nodding. "I will be known as Marianne while in disguise. But how are you going to introduce me to him? And what reason are you going to give for my late... visit?"

Just then, there was a creaking sound coming from the throne room doors. "You'll see," Uther told me as I immediately positioned myself next to his throne and waved a hand over my gown, effectively changing it into a plain dress. I reached up and unhooked my necklace, stuffing it into a dress pocket. Then I looked on nervously in silence as the doors opened to reveal a young raven-haired man, alongside my childhood friend, Camelot's Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon.

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**Whew! That was rather exhausting. Mainly because I had to keep myself from turning this story into a dark, angsty one - I was listening to Adam Lambert's If I Had You. Also, did anyone notice the PJO reference by Elysia? I just love PJO sooooo much.**

**I really hope you guys like this chapter!^_^**

**I accept constructive criticism. Flames are sorta accepted too.**

**P.S. If any of you could leave a review, could you please give advice on how I should make my chapters more lengthier? I'm having some trouble writing long chapters.**

**~Sister Of Avalon(::)(::)**


	3. Introductions

**Hey guys, I'm back! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters. Sigh.**

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Arthur's POV (1st person)

As Merlin and I walked in, the first thing I noticed was that the throne room was empty. _Completely_ empty. Well that is, with the exception of my father and a young woman - perhaps a serving girl - whom I did not recognise. She was standing beside my father's throne.

I felt a pang of disappointment when I realised that Elysia was not in the room. But I quickly pushed it away. Now was not the time to dwell on those thoughts.

"Good afternoon, father," I greeted, bowing.

Merlin did the same, though he changed 'father' to 'my lord' instead.

Then, I looked- no, surveyed the woman.

She had long, wavy, raven-black hair that was pinned up in a bun. Her eyes were of a vivid amber colour. She also had plush lips and a very pale complexion which looked like porcelain.

In other words, she looked pretty, in spite of the plain dress she had on.

However, there was a constant nagging feeling that I had seen her before. Where was it, exactly? I just could not put my finger on it.

Following my gaze, Uther said, "Arthur, Merlin, this is Marianne, the maidservant of Queen Elysia."

"Good Afternoon, Prince Arthur, Merlin," she greeted shyly, curtsying.

_That's it! _I thought excitedly.

"Yes, what were you saying?" Uther questioned, making me realise that I had spoken my thoughts out loud. _Oops_.

"Er... You see, I just realised that Elysia and Marianne look quite alike."

"That _is_ what I've been told, sire," Marianne said, a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"How on earth are the others going to differentiate you and Elysia, then?"

She shrugged. "The Queen has a sort of magical energy around her, while I don't. This makes it easy for us to... identify her...?"

I nodded at her explanation, but Merlin frowned, as if he did not agree with her.

"Where is the Queen then, sire? If her maidservant is here, she _should_ be here too," Merlin piped up. I nodded furiously, hoping that Uther would tell us where she was.

"I will tell you later," Uther replied.

Sighing, Merlin and I shuffled to our respective positions and waited for the council meeting to take place.

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Uther's POV (Third person)

"As all of you know, the main topic for today is the... visit from Queen Elysia. However, I regret to inform you that she will not be due to arrive for another six months, due to the fact that she is currently recuperating in the Isle of the Blessed to fully regain her drained energy that she has lost over the the past few... _war ridden_ months."

As soon as Uther said that, every _single _member of the council groaned, but none so much as Arthur, whose face wore a look of utter dismay.

Smirking to himself at the look on his son's face, he continued, "However, she has requested that her maidservant, Marianne, be allowed to stay here until the time of her visit so that she would be able to get used to life here. I have approved of her proposal, and as such, she will become Arthur's maidservant- but only until Elysia 's arrival. So now, do you have any questions?"

Immediately, all of the council shook their heads.

"No? Well then, let us move on to other... _Less interesting_ topics, shall we?"

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**Okay... Looks like I'm done with this chapter. It _is_ quite short though, but never mind about that.**

**I sooooo sorry I didn't update this story earlier, guys. It was just that I had a school camp at Kota Tinggi, Malaysia like last week, from Wednesday to Friday, and it was just so tiring. So I was too tired to update till now. Xp**

**Please leave a review, Kay? I would _really _appreciate it. Also, please leave a review or pm me to suggest how I can improve/continue the story and make the chapters longer... It would really help me a lot. Btw, I'm going to publish a new PJO fanfiction entitled "The lost princess of Athens". I think it's slightly a bit cliche but please read it if you have the time.**

**P.S. The story takes place after The Coming Of Arthur(Series 3) but i will be changing some parts of the story, like instead of ONE battle in series five, I will have two battles, but Arthur doesn't die in them. XD. Also, I will only rewrite some of the episodes in series 4 & 5 'cus I don't want to write too many chapters.**

**So yeah.**

**Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out.**

**~~Sister of Avalon ****(::)(::)-cookies for you! ^_^**


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